A Warning Of Mail Theft / Need Advice

[Kf6vci]

Hello Everybody,

in March, I posted important stuff at the little office near the Bangkok Bank, opposite the VC Hotel, on the 2nd Rd. NOTHING ever arrived: I had returned travellers' cheques to my bank and sent off a few presents.

With hindsight, I noticed that the proprietor never actually put a stamp on any package or envelope. So in future, I will rather buy the stamps and use an official letterbox and urge you all to be careful.

Q: could you recommend a taylor? Will get married soon and since I'm ugly like the 7 deadly sins, a good taylor may help :-P Cheers, Chris

[Tufty]

I've used DHL a few times now and it takes about 4 days to get here from the UK and 5 or 6 to get back, you can track your package on the internet or by using SMS. Everything I've sent so far has reached it's destination, they have an office upstairs in Tops supermarket

[Ausiefella]

also bloody expensive, and the quality of the suits aren't up to much neither

[astral]

Using couriers is expensive, but reliable.

Otherwise post your letters at the main Post Office, in Post Office Soi,

That way there is a 99% chance that they will arrive.

It is worth trying to get a PO Box to ensure safe delivery,

it is the last leg to the house that is the problem, usually.

If problems still persist when you use the Post Office then write

to

Customer Service

General Post Office

New Road

Bangkok

with details, and they will investigate.

Edited May 16, 2004 by astral

[lungbing]

The main PO in Soi PO is often so busy that it's easier to go to the PO in Naklua.

If the destination address is within Thailand then use EMS, only about 30 baht extra and much safer. Just ask at PO counter.

I have more trouble with incoming mail from England not arriving. Now my family send birthday cards with the envelope flap just tucked in, not stuck down. But two other envelopes have not arrived this month. A parcel of crosswords and a small booklet.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Hello Everybody,

in March, I posted important stuff at the little office near the Bangkok Bank, opposite the VC Hotel, on the 2nd Rd. NOTHING ever arrived: I had returned travellers' cheques to my bank and sent off a few presents.

With hindsight, I noticed that the proprietor never actually put a stamp on any package or envelope. So in future, I will rather buy the stamps and use an official letterbox and urge you all to be careful.

Q: could you recommend a taylor? Will get married soon and since I'm ugly like the 7 deadly sins, a good taylor may help :-P Cheers, Chris

Needle King is a decent tailor. Mr Roger. On Sukhumvit between Soi's 10 and 12.

[mike100]

Since last November, we only get a very small percentage of mail arriving from England.

Got to the point now of advising family and friends not to even bother anymore with sending birthday or Christmas cards.

Some mail sent from within Thailand is not arriving either, mainly the wife’s family letters and even the odd telephone bill.

Very rare that letters sent to the UK do not arrive though (for us.) Always use the service at Tesco Lotus in North Pattaya Road.

The wife spoke to a neighbor who works for the post office and she said it is not unknown for local postman to throw away some of the mail if they get a heavy load.

Astral, thanks for the tip about a post office box, will have to follow that up.

Mike.

[eric1000]

Hello Everybody,

in March, I posted important stuff at the little office near the Bangkok Bank, opposite the VC Hotel, on the 2nd Rd. NOTHING ever arrived: I had returned travellers' cheques to my bank and sent off a few presents.

"

reposted from archives SCT ....

*****************************************

Oh I don't know about that...... The Laard Praaw postmaster was interviewed

in the Thai press a year or so ago and he admitted that theft of mail was a

major problem. He said there was not much he could do about it because of

constant staff turnover and honest employees being hard to find.

Not only farang mail is involved Thais suffer from mail theft more than

anyone, they would *never* enclose anything of value such as a cheque or

cash in a posted article.

Thais in my soi say that the "burut praisanii" (postmen) can smell money

through a triple sealed plastic bag!

Postal theft is also one of the reasons why there are so many motorbike

couriers in BKK They can be seen all over town usually wearing a dark blue

jacket with a logo on the back and a bag slung over their shoulder.

Sandy"

************************

Mail Theft In Thailand.

From AsiaWeek, Week of January 5, 1996

Thieves steal at least 27% of all postal parcels arriving in Thailand through

Bangkok's Don Muang Airport, according to the government, which also admits

the percentage grows larger if you include registered and insured letters. A

mail theft syndicate appears to be operating at the airport, which is outside

the jurisdiction of the postal police.

[Davidcharles]

Christ! I have just been told by the UK Pension service that the only way they can send my Monthly Pension is by a sterling cheque.... BY MAIL!!!

At present they put it into my Nationwide Bank Account here in UK. Better let that continue eh?. And draw out cash from an ATM (if I find one that will ....)

Then theres the Bloody exchange rate. Bet that will be lousy using an ATM.

What else can I do you guys?

[mike100]

Christ! I have just been told by the UK Pension service that the only way they can send my Monthly Pension is by a sterling cheque.... BY MAIL!!!

At present they put it into my Nationwide Bank Account here in UK. Better let that continue eh?.  And draw out cash from an ATM (if I find one that will ....)

Then theres the Bloody exchange rate. Bet that will be lousy using an ATM.

What else can I do you guys?

I hear that Nationwide and Egg savings are about the best options with nil charges, and a much better exchange rate than say, HSBC. Use my Egg ATM card out here with no problems.

One piece of advice though, open a second Nationwide account with an ATM card attached so you can transfer funds over the net in case of a card failure on the original account. It happened to me a couple of years ago, and is very hard to sort out from Los.

Had to use the HSBC card with charges per withdrawal and a rip off exchange rate, until a trip home to sort it out.

[Clicker]

Good advice from Mike, open another UK account where you can transfer monies with your internet banking should you have a problem. I use Barclays & had big problems a couple of years ago when my debit card developed a small crack rendering it unusable-wish I'd thought of it then:) Regarding using your UK debit card, I have done this for years & always get the going rate, good or bad, however, what I didn't know as it is not shown on my internet banking statement is that each time I make a withdrawal I am charged. This only came to light when I actually saw my bank statement-proper when back in the UK-Expensive too, around two pounds odd charge on ten thousand, double this at twenty thousand etc. Does anyone have a UK bank that doesn't charge?

Naklua PO is better in my experience. Things rarely going adrift when sent from here, unlike soi PO where I have sent things , even registered that haven't gotten back to Blighty. Anything of value I send via DHL -worth the extra! I did have a PO Box at one stage, however, the amount of mail I received didn't justify the expense. Like Mike I have instructed people in the UK not to bother with the likes of Xmas or Birthday cards. Anything of importance I have them send DHL.

Clicker

[lungbing]

Before I came to live here 3 years ago I opened two Flexaccounts with Nationwide a year apart. The card for the accounts at that time lasted for two years so I always had a current one. But they have now reduced this to one year per card so they both expire together. But there's always someone coming over to bring my new card.

But I still have the security of a spare card if one gets damaged as I can use the online facilities to move my pension from one account to t'other.

I have never had a problem using my Nationwide card here in LOS and there is no charge from Nationwide for using it. There is sometimes a 20 baht charge for using it lfor a withdrawal locally so I always use Thai Farmers Bank which has no charge.

The baht/pound exchange rate is excellent and I have just checked and for a withdrawal I made yesterday I got 74.515

Derek

Khon Kaen

[john b good]

Hello Everybody,

in March, I posted important stuff at the little office near the Bangkok Bank, opposite the VC Hotel, on the 2nd Rd. NOTHING ever arrived: I had returned travellers' cheques to my bank and sent off a few presents.

"

reposted from archives SCT ....

*****************************************

Oh I don't know about that...... The Laard Praaw postmaster was interviewed

in the Thai press a year or so ago and he admitted that theft of mail was a

major problem. He said there was not much he could do about it because of

constant staff turnover and honest employees being hard to find.

Not only farang mail is involved Thais suffer from mail theft more than

anyone, they would *never* enclose anything of value such as a cheque or

cash in a posted article.

Thais in my soi say that the "burut praisanii" (postmen) can smell money

through a triple sealed plastic bag!

Postal theft is also one of the reasons why there are so many motorbike

couriers in BKK They can be seen all over town usually wearing a dark blue

jacket with a logo on the back and a bag slung over their shoulder.

Sandy"

************************

Mail Theft In Thailand.

From AsiaWeek, Week of January 5, 1996

Thieves steal at least 27% of all postal parcels arriving in Thailand through

Bangkok's Don Muang Airport, according to the government, which also admits

the percentage grows larger if you include registered and insured letters. A

mail theft syndicate appears to be operating at the airport, which is outside

the jurisdiction of the postal police.

Mike100's wife said.........

The wife spoke to a neighbor who works for the post office and she said it is not unknown for local postman to throw away some of the mail if they get a heavy load.

And it is not only the postie who throws the mail away either........

Mail that the postie puts in the wrong letterbox (the neighbours for example) is likely to go the same way with the neighbour just binning it. Not many people here who will take the time to scrawl "not here address unknown" and send it back to the PO the next time they pass a post box.

From AsiaWeek........

Thieves steal at least 27% of all postal parcels arriving in Thailand through

(the figure 27% plus or minus is very popular on the forum )

From my own experience there are many credit card providers who will not even courier a credit card to an address in Thailand. Thats gotta say something about the integrity of the mail service and the people employed therein doesn't it.

[mike100]

The baht/pound exchange rate is excellent and I have just checked and for a withdrawal I made yesterday I got 74.515

Derek

Khon Kaen

Yes,

i just transferred the 12,000 sterling, which I thought was about the 800,000 Baht

required for my R extension visa renewal. Turned out to be more than 100,000 baht more than last years rate.

Paid for the flight home soon to see the family, the wife’s new motorbike and a bit extra in the bank. Great exchange rates at the moment.

Mike.

[astral]

Christ! I have just been told by the UK Pension service that the only way they can send my Monthly Pension is by a sterling cheque.... BY MAIL!!!

Sending any foreign currency cheque here is lunacy, as it has to be sent right back to be cleared.

Better to have the money paid in at home, then TT every month or two according to needs. Alternatively use the hole in the wall.

[Begs]

Royal Mail UK. From The Guardian. Looks like it is not just Thailand.

Post workers defended after 70,000 thefts

David Gow, Mark Oliver and Vikram Dodd

Friday April 30, 2004

The Guardian

Postal workers stole 70,000 items of mail last year, resulting in some 300 prosecutions, according to internal Royal Mail figures obtained by the Guardian.

The figures suggest that scores of workers could be stealing, according to one industry insider, but Royal Mail said the stolen items, down from just under 107,000 in 2001-02

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I knew a guy in the UK that used to be a postman, he was busted for stealing credit cards and Pin Numbers, and he used to nick some Birthday cards.

[Freddie_fly]

I probably should not write a reply here as it will mean that things will change for me, anyway here goes.

I have lived in Thailand for 22 years now, In that time I have had only one piece of mail go missing. One big thing I did was change my zip code from 20260 to 20150, As I learned that banglamung zip is 20150. All my mail was going to pattaya Post office first. Then after a while they would re-direct to Naklua who deliver to 20150. I have DVD's, Computer parts, Presents etc all sent and all get to me (OK many are opened, but that is OK as some stuff is dutiable). I live in Pattaya Land & House and we have had the same postman for the last 7 years, he knows me and often brings large packages to my door instead of leaving a pick up note.

On another note, NO courier service will now send unsigned credit cards to Thailand. Considering the expence and the door to door service, why is this??, maybe DHL TNT etc realise that their employees in thailand are not totally honest.

When I lived in Singapore there was no problem with my bank/CC company sending cards to me (standard overseas mail).

regards

Freddie